Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Tuesday Wrapup, Wednesday Open Thread

Durham Bulls 2 -at- Charlotte Knights 3

- The Bulls fall to 1-5 on their current 14-game road trip.

- Durham is 5-2 at home and 1-5 on the road.

- Leslie Anderson was 3-4 with a double and a run scored. That extends Anderson's hitting streak to 13 games dating back to September 2nd of last season. This season he's 19-41, a .463 batting average.

- SS Tim Beckham was 1-3 (triple) with a walk, now hitting .234 on the year.

- CF Brandon Guyer was 1-4 with a double, raising his average to .191.

- Catcher Craig Albernaz was 0-2 and remains hitless on the season (7 ABs over 4 games).

- LF Kyle Hudson stole a base and Anderson was caught stealing, giving the Bulls 7 SB and 8 CS on the year.

- Ex-Rays on the Knights: DH Dan Johnson was 0-2 with 2 walks, C Hector Gimenez was 0-3 with a walk, and SS Ray Olmedo was 3-3 with 2 doubles.

- Starter Jhonny Nunez only lasted 3.0 innings, giving up 2 ER on 3 hits and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts in his 2nd fill-in start of the year. He needed 70 pitches to get those 9 outs, 40 for strikes.

- After Nunez came Cesar Ramos with 1.2 scoreless, Romulo Sanchez who allowed 1 run in 1.2 and took the loss, and John Gaub, who finished things off with a hitless, scoreless 1.2 innings and 3 strikeouts.

- Current standings for the Bulls and the rest of the organization are on the right sidebar once all of tonight's games are finished.

- B.J. Upton is scheduled to play in both games on Wednesday, in the outfield in game 1 and at DH in game 2. If all goes well he should be finished with his rehab assignment with the Biscuits.

Wednesday starters vs Mobile: LH Kyle Lobstein and RH Joseph Cruz. Projected for the rest of the week: Thursday - RH Jake Thompson, Friday - the newest Rays player, RH Matt Buschmann, Saturday - RH Shane Dyer, who was moved back a day due to the groin injury on Sunday.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 1 -vs- St. Lucie Mets 6

- After only 4 hits Monday night the Stone Crabs were held to a mere 3 hits on Tuesday, all singles. SS Derek Dietrich was 1-3 with a walk, 1B Phil Wunderlich was 1-3 with a walk, and 3B Robby Price was 1-3 with a walk.

- Starter Enny Romero went 5.0 and allowed 3 ER on 4 hits (all 4 were doubles) and a walk while striking out 5. His ERA stands at 3.75 and he has 14 strikeouts and 10 walks in 12.0 innings over 3 starts.

- RH George Jensen followed with 2 shutout innings. LH Chris Rearick pitched the final 2 innings and was charged with 3 unearned runs in the 9th due to an error by SS Derek Dietrich.

- DH Ty Morrison and RF Kevin Kiermaier each stole a base and 3B Robby Price was caught stealing. The Stone Crabs now have an even 12 SB and 12 CS this season.

- After setting franchise records with 22 runs, 23 hits and 6 home runs on Sunday, the Hot Rods have been held to 9 hits the past 2 nights (4 on Monday, 5 on Tuesday). Unlike Monday's comeback win in the bottom of the 9th, Bowling Green was shut out on Tuesday, ending their 6-game win streak.

- RF Drew Vettleson was 0-3 with a walk, DH Jeff Malm was 0-2 with a walk and a HBP, and SS Jake Hager and 2B Juniel Querecuto were each 0-3.

- Starter Felipe Rivero went 6.0 innings, allowing only an unearned run on 3 hits with 7 strikeouts and no walks. Rivero threw 78 pitches, 55 for strikes. Rivero has yet to allow an earned run in 17.0 innings over 3 starts. He has struck out 16 and only walked one batter this season.

Today's moves: The Hot Rods placed OF Kes Carter on the 7-day DL with a hamstring and added catcher Alejandro Torres.

Ex-Rays news: LHP Michael Jarman has signed with the Lincoln SaltDogs of the American Association. OF Nick Schwaner signed with the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League. OF John Shelby signed with the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League. And IF/OF Anthony Scelfo has signed with the Laredo Lemurs of the American Association.

I watched Rivero pitch in every Princeton Rays game last summer. When I began reading all of the preseason hype, I found it amusing. I am not sure who determines the "rising star" status for players in the farm teams, but the true talent goes completely unsung. Unless the Rays are playing the PR game of touting top signing bonus players with hype so that they can actually have some leverage when they go to trade, or they need to check if their scouts have lost their edge.

^^^ you must not like any of the priceton players from last season. Rivero looks like he is pitching outstanding and was top pitcher with matthew spann last year and vettleson is top 4 on the team in just about every statistic (same as last season) and leads the team in outfield assist with 5 through 14 games.